New Cars Toons Short to Debut on Disney Channel

A new Disney/Pixar Cars Toons short is set to premiere on Disney Channel Friday, March 12 at 8:55 p.m. Directed by John Lasseter, Rob Gibbs and Victor Navone, the new installment is titled Tokyo Mater and features a score by electronica composer BT.

The short finds Mater in Tokyo where he is challenged to a drift-style race against a nefarious gang leader and his posse of ninjas. With the help of his friend, “Dragon” Lightning McQueen, and some special modifications, Mater attempts to drift to victory and become “Tow-ke-O Mater, King of all Drifters.”

The popular Cars Toons shorts debuted in October 2008 and reached 78.3 million unique total viewers in 2009, including 26.6 million among target age group kids 2-11. Later this year, Disney Online will launch the World of Cars Online (www.WorldOfCars.com), a virtual world that allows fans to immerse themselves in Radiator Springs and interact with other players alongside Lightning, Mater and Doc. A new Cars Land attraction is also planned to open at Disney’s California Adventure in 2012, in time for the release of the feature’s sequel, Cars 2.